1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a computer system and, more particularly, to a computer system in which information of a power supply is outputted to a computer screen via an advanced technology extended (ATX) power connector to provide a real-time monitoring function for users.
2. Description of the Related Art
Advanced technology extended (ATX) is a spec of the motherboard designed by Intel in 1995. The ATX overtook advanced technology (AT) as the default spec of the motherboard for current computer systems, and it is also the most universal spec of the motherboard in an assembled computer. In addition, multiple spec of the motherboards such as micro ATX, Flex ATX and mini-ATX are developed from the ATX, but most of them have the same the basic specification.
In the previous ATX form factor, the power connector is a 20-pin connector. However, with the increase of the power consumption of a microprocessor, the standard 20-pin ATX power connector is deemed inadequate to supply increasing electrical load requirements. Thus, in the new ATX form factor, a 4-pin power connector is extra added. Thus, the currently used ATX power connector has 24 pins. Since the currently used power supply of the personal computer is restricted by the Intel specification, it is hard to add pins for transmitting information related to the state of the power supply to the original 24-pin connector. Neither the normal 20-pin ATX power connector nor the 24-pin ATX power connector has pins for transmitting the information. Thus, the computer system cannot obtain the voltage, the current, the temperature and other information of the ATX power supply via the ATX power connector.
In the conventional method, a system and a power supply with a power monitoring function are provided. A transmission cable such as a universal serial bus (USB) cable is used to transmit the information related to the state of the power supply to the motherboard. This method allows the power supply to be monitored via software instructions. However, since connectors for transmitting information should be additionally disposed in the power supply, the manufacturing cost of the power supply increases, and thus the assembly difficulty increases therewith.